Grady A. Smith was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School, Class 6-65, 22 June 22 1965. His first duty assignment was Platoon Leader, 2nd Battalion, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division, Dominican Republic. | His subsequent duty assignments include: BN S2, Fort Lewis, Washington 6th BN, 31st IN; Commander, Co D, Republic of Vietnam 6th BN, 31st IN; Instructor, Fort Benning, Georgia, IMD USAIS; Staff Officer Theater Army SPT Command USAREUR, Germany; Race Relations Staff Officer, Theater Army Spt Cmd USAREUR, Germany; Race Relations Staff Officer, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Recruiting Command; Branch Chief, Washington, D.C., Adjutant General Center; Staff Officer, LDRSHP DIV, HR Directorate ODCSPER, HQDA; Executive Officer, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Washington, D.C. | Dr. Grady Smith graduated from the following military schools: Basic/ Advanced Training Fort Gordon, Georgia, 1964; Infantry Officer Candidate School 6-65 Fort Benning, Georgia, 1965; Ranger and Airborne School, Fort Benning, Georgia, 1965; Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Fort Benning, Georgia, 1971; Defense Language Institute-German, Presidio of Monterey, California, 1972; Defense Equal Opportunity MNGT Institute Patrick AFB, Florida, 1973; Command and Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1977. | Dr. Grady Smith's military awards and decorations include: Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star N Device and Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal w/ Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal w/ 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge. | Lieutenant Colonel Smith is retired and now serves as Regimental Historian for the 31st Infantry Regiment Association. He acted in the following capacity following retirement: Playwright-in-Residence, St. Louis Actors Ensemble St. Louis, Missouri; Adjunct Professor, Playwriting, Washington University St. Louis, Missouri; Adjunct Professor, George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia; Drama Critic, Intermission Magazine St. Louis, Washington D.C.; Actor, Off Broadway, New York City, Folger Theater, Washington D.C., Published Author, Washington D.C. | Dr. Grady Smith is serving as Historian, 31st Infantry Regiment Association. In July 2018, a book he edited and co-authored, "The 31st Infantry Regiment: A History of America's Foreign Legion in Peace and War," was published by McFarland and Company, Jefferson, North Carolina. The work details the first century of the 31st Infantry Regiment's service to our Nation. | He has authored and published two additional books: "Blood Chit," Apippa Publishing Company, Riverside Park, Maryland, and a novel about PTSD in a Vietnam War setting: "Travel Abroad: Frulovisi's Peregrinatio." This academic book provides the first translation of the earliest humanist comedy written in England (1437) from Latin into English, and was published by Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies at the Arizona Center for Medieval Studies.